Liven Up Your Cooking By Making Your Own Infused Olive Oil

I try to use olive oil when I am cooking, and I've found that infused olive oil can really liven things up!

From scrambled eggs to pan-fried vegetables and meats, an infused olive oil can add that extra flavor that brings your dish something new! (Pan-fried potatoes in an infused olive oil are delicious!)

I like to use rosemary-infused olive oil, and I make it myself - it's so easy! I have a rosemary bush in my garden (that's a picture of my rosemary above!). If you don't have your own rosemary, or if you don't have a neighbor willing to give you a few sprigs, hit up your local grocery. While you are there, pick up a jug of good, quality extra virgin olive oil.

Pour olive oil into the container that you want to store it in to the level you'd like (I go about 1 inch below the rim). I use an old "specialty" olive oil bottle like this one:

Once the bottle is almost full, pour it into a saucepan and heat on low. The important thing to remember is that you don't want to allow the oil to become too hot, you want to let it just warm up. While it is warming, add fresh, clean rosemary (by "clean", just make certain that ther are no dead/dry leaves, bugs, flowers, etc; don't rinse it! If you need to remove the rosemary leaves from the stems to get them under the surface of the oil, do that: you want the rosemary submerged in the oil as best as you can.

Gentle occasional stirring is okay but, for the most part, leave the oil alone on the burner for an hour or more. Remember, keep your fire/heat low so that you are only warming the oil, not heating it too much.  Soon, your kitchen will be filled with the wonderful aroma of fresh rosemary!

After at least an hour, turn off the heat and strain the oil back into the bottle you want to use to store the oil. After the oil cools, put the top on and you're ready to liven up your next meal!